Delivering exceptional customer service and driving sales are essential for the success of eCommerce businesses today. One of the most effective tools that you can use to achieve these goals is AI-powered chatbots.
AI chatbots are intelligent assistants that help you automate customer interactions, improve user experience, and increase conversions while reducing operational costs. In this post, we will learn more about AI chatbots and their use cases in eCommerce.
Understanding AI Chatbots for ECommerce
ECommerce chatbots are AI-powered virtual assistants that offer your online store a conversational tool to engage with customers and automate customer interactions. It mimics human-like conversations to make customers feel supported at every step of their buying journey.
These chatbots handle a variety of tasks -
- Answer customer queries
- Provide product recommendations
- Assist in order placements
- Track order deliveries
and much more to improve shopping experiences.
Benefits of AI Chatbots for ECommerce
Unlike traditional eCommerce chatbots, AI chatbots can handle thousands of customer interactions simultaneously. Thus, making it an effective tool in enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. These chatbots can provide 24/7 customer support ensuring you are available for your customers at any time of the day, regardless of the time zones. In fact, 64% of customers admitted that 24/7 availability is the best feature of chatbots.
Additionally, AI chatbots help you save on customer service costs by automating repetitive inquiries. For example, responding to FAQs, sharing order updates, and more. This allows your human support agents to focus on more complex issues and offer high-quality assistance. According to research by IBM, businesses can save up to 30% on customer support costs by implementing an AI-powered chatbot.
AI chatbots also offer personalized product suggestions to upsell and cross-sell products based on customer behavior, thus acting as the best sales enablers. This helps in boosting conversions and increasing average order values, thereby maximizing sales and revenue. It is hence, necessary for your eCommerce store.
There is no doubt that the integration of AI technologies like NLP and machine learning has transformed the way chatbots operate. AI chatbots can understand nuanced customer requirements, predict their intent, and offer personalized solutions to their queries. They can proactively engage customers and offer a seamless shopping journey. No wonder the AI chatbots market is projected to reach $22.6 billion by 2031.
4 Different Types of AI Chatbots
Not all AI chatbots are the same. They can be customized to cater to your unique business requirements. You can design your custom AI chatbot to handle straightforward tasks as well as to deliver highly personalized experiences.
Here are some of the most popular types of AI chatbots for the eCommerce industry.
1. Keyword Recognition-based Chatbots
As the name suggests, these chatbots can identify specific keywords or phrases within customer queries to provide relevant responses. They refer to a predefined database of keywords for generating relevant answers or guiding users to the right resources.
For example, when a customer types "track my order," the chatbot recognizes the keyword "track" and provides relevant information. It can also direct the customer to the detailed order tracking page.
The keyword recognition-based chatbots are faster to implement and more efficient for handling straightforward tasks like answering FAQs, providing order details, and more. However, they struggle when customers write their queries in a complex manner or use synonyms. Thus, making them a perfect choice for eCommerce businesses that need quick and straightforward automation.
2. Contextual Chatbots
Contextual chatbots leverage AI and machine learning to understand the context of customer conversations. Unlike their keyword-based chatbots, these chatbots go beyond individual words and focus on the overall conversation to understand the intent and deliver highly relevant responses to customers. Thanks to NLP and machine learning algorithms, these chatbots analyze the entire query and past interactions instead of focusing on isolated keywords. They can recommend products, suggest upsells, and provide tailored responses based on the customer’s behavior and history.
For instance, if a customer has browsed for laptops and asks your chatbot "Do you have more options like this?", then the chatbot remembers their browsing history and suggests similar laptop models or accessories. It not only understands the query but also refers to the previous products the customer viewed and offers similar recommendations.
Contextual chatbots excel at providing a personalized shopping experience, making them highly effective for eCommerce businesses focused on customer retention and satisfaction.
3. Hybrid Chatbots
As the name suggests, hybrid chatbots offer you the features of both, keyword-recognition-based chatbots and contextual chatbots. These chatbots combine the simplicity of keyword recognition with the intelligence of contextual understanding to provide highly relevant responses to customers. They can handle routine queries using keywords as well as more complex issues using their advanced contextual understanding. Additionally, they can seamlessly escalate queries to human agents as and when required as it can seamlessly integrate with live chat support.
For example, when a customer asks "What are your shipping options?", the hybrid chatbot will send a pre-programmed response to the customer. However, if there is a follow-up question like "Can you guarantee delivery before Christmas?", it will conduct a deeper analysis to share the right answer.
Hybrid chatbots are excellent chatbot solutions for businesses that need a balance between automation and intelligence. They provide efficiency as they can process routine and complex queries while ensuring customer satisfaction.
4. Voice Chatbots
Voice chatbots are powered by speech recognition technology that allows customers to interact with them via voice commands rather than text. These chatbots have gained immense popularity with the rise of voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.
In eCommerce, these chatbots help customers search for products, place orders, or check order statuses using simple voice instructions. Being equipped with robust AI and NLP, these chatbots can interpret different accents, dialects, and speech patterns effectively. For example, if a customer says, "Find me red sneakers in size 9," then the chatbot will pull up relevant options instantly.
Voice chatbots facilitate hands-free interactions via voice search, making shopping more convenient for customers.
AI Chatbots for ECommerce Use Cases
AI chatbots help eCommerce stores offer 24/7 customer support cost-effectively. It supports customers in various ways to enhance their shopping journey. Here are some of the most common use cases of how these chatbots can be incorporated into your eCommerce experience.
1. Gather Customer Information
AI chatbots can interact with customers to collect valuable information by asking simple questions. For example, customer name, email address, preferences, product interests, and shopping behavior. These interactions often occur through prompts like surveys, welcome messages, or quick quizzes. The gathered information is stored and used for future interactions.
Collecting this customer data allows you to create personalized shopping experiences and build targeted marketing campaigns. It also allows you to share better, hyperpersonalized product recommendations with customers. Thus offering them tailored offers that match their needs and enhance their shopping experience.
For example, Sephora, a beauty products and personal care retailer has set up a quiz on its chatbot to gather customer preferences for makeup and skincare which is then used to share personalized product recommendations.
2. Answer Customer Queries
AI chatbots can handle customer inquiries, offering instant responses to common questions about product details, shipping policies, payment methods, or order tracking. These chatbots leverage NLP algorithms to understand and address customer questions round-the-clock.
AI chatbots help you offer help to your customers without any waiting time via automation, creating a hassle-free and seamless shopping journey. This reduces the workload on your human support teams, freeing up their time to tackle more complex issues and sales-related activities.
For example, Amazon, the world's largest eCommerce marketplace uses AI chatbot to answer customers' questions about order deliveries, return policies, account settings, and much more. Thus, making online shopping seamless.
3. Offer Shopping Assistance
AI chatbots act as virtual shopping assistants. They help customers navigate your online store, discover products, compare features, and even guide them through the purchasing process. They are equipped to provide personalized product suggestions and even build complete shopping lists based on their preferences and budgets.
By assisting indecisive customers via tailored product recommendations, these chatbots eliminate buyer frustration and build a smoother decision-making process. They also answer various product-related questions, simplifying the shopping journey and increasing the likelihood of purchase. Thus, you gain a competitive edge as your customers are satisfied with a concierge-like and effortless shopping experience.
For instance, H&M, a famous clothing brand uses an AI chatbot to help customers choose their outfits. It asks them a series of questions about their preferences like color, style, and more to build a list of curated options.
4. Upsell and Cross-Sell to Customers
AI chatbots can analyze customer data and shopping behavior to identify opportunities for increasing your eCommerce sales. They can suggest complementary products (cross-sell) or upgraded versions of items in the cart (upsell) during the shopping journey based on the customers' shopping patterns and preferences.
By doing so, these chatbots guide customers toward products they might have considered purchasing. Thus, helping them discover products that better meet their needs or enhance their existing purchases. It is like a strategic nudge that encourages customers to make higher-value purchases. This increases the average order value and boosts your revenue.
For example, Uniqlo, a clothing apparel company has an interesting chatbot that offers excellent product recommendations for upselling and cross-selling.
5. Manage Orders and Returns
AI chatbots streamline the process of tracking orders, providing real-time updates, and assisting customers in initiating and managing returns or exchanges. They help customers gain access to instant solutions for checking delivery statuses and resolving any return-related issues. This reduces frustration and enhances their overall shopping experience.
For your business, it reduces support costs as it automates repetitive orders and returns-related inquiries and ensures consistent customer service.
For example, Abercrombie & Fitch, an American fashion brand uses an AI chatbot to allow customers to track their orders. It offers them a menu with FAQs quick access to orders, and products, and a store locator.
6. Offer Promotions and Discounts
AI chatbots are designed to identify customer preferences and behaviors to deliver personalized promotions, discounts, or special offers during interactions. For example, coupon codes, flash sales alerts, or loyalty rewards based on their browsing habits or cart activity. This helps customers discover excellent deals and discounts that are tailored to their shopping interests.
This tactic can help you, as a business, to receive higher click-through rates and conversions as customers take advantage of the deals they might have otherwise missed.
For example, Pizza Hut, an international pizza chain restaurant uses an AI chatbot to provide exclusive deals to customers. This chatbot has simplified the pizza ordering experience for customers while driving more online sales.
7. Prevent Abandoned Carts
AI chatbots can also proactively engage customers who leave items in their carts without completing the purchase. You can set triggers such as cart inactivity or session abandonment to reach out to customers with personalized messages encouraging them to complete their purchases. You can configure your chatbot to send reminders, offer discounts, and exclusive deals, or address potential concerns to bring customers back to the checkout page. This strategy can help reduce cart abandonment rates as it re-engages hesitant customers.
For example, eBay Canada, a famous online marketplace uses a chatbot to send exclusive discounts to customers who return to their store to make new purchases. They send a discount code for customers who did not finish their purchase, increasing conversion rates.
8. Provide Post-sales Support
AI chatbots can assist customers after a purchase by answering queries related to products. This includes troubleshooting product issues, processing warranty claims, and offering advice on how to make the best use of the product. This ensures faster resolution times and reduces strain on support teams. Your customers will also feel supported with timely assistance on product usage, which improves their experience with your brand.
For instance, AirHelp, a company dealing with air passenger rights uses a chatbot to collect customer requests related to airfare refunds, claims, and much more.
9. Collect Customer Feedback
AI chatbots are designed to gather customer feedback by conducting personalized surveys, asking for product reviews, or prompting ratings after an interaction or purchase. They can also share tailored built-in feedback forms to capture customers' sentiments about your products.
This strategy helps customers to voice their opinions conveniently without having to visit additional landing pages or submit lengthy forms. You can gain valuable insights from customers regarding your products, services, and customer experiences.
For example, Starbucks uses its AI-powered chatbot to collect feedback about in-store experiences. After a mobile order or store visit, the chatbot prompts customers with a short survey, such as rating the coffee quality and service speed.
The Best AI Chatbot for ECommerce
If you are looking for the best AI chatbot for your eCommerce store, we would certainly recommend Bodt. Bodt is the best AI chatbot for eCommerce that leverages advanced AI to automate customer interactions, boost engagement, and deliver exceptional customer service. It uses NLP technology to customer queries and provides quick, accurate responses.
Bodt offers excellent functionality to engage customers at every stage of their buyer journey. From product discovery to post-purchase support, you can configure it to offer a personalized experience for each customer.
- Product Recommendations by analyzing customer preferences, browsing history, and previous purchases to recommend relevant products to customers.
- Order Management to help customers inquire about the status of their orders, initiate returns, or track shipments.
- Customer Support to provide 24/7 customer assistance, answering queries, resolving issues, and guiding customers through various stages of their purchase process.
- Upsell and Cross-sell to intelligently suggest complementary products, increasing the average order value.
- Abandoned Cart Recovery to send reminders and offer personalized discounts to customers who have abandoned their carts, driving higher conversion rates.
Bodt aims at providing a frictionless shopping experience that boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty. It offers valuable customer data and offers actionable insights that can be used to refine marketing strategies, product offerings, and overall customer experience.
Most customers prefer Bodt for the following reasons.
- User-friendly setup.
- 24/7 availability.
- Scalable solution with advanced functionality.
- Seamless integration with existing eCommerce platform.
You can sign up for Bodt today to transform your customer experience using an AI chatbot.
Wrapping Up
AI chatbots are indispensable tools for eCommerce businesses. By automating tasks such as answering queries, assisting with shopping, tracking orders, and collecting valuable feedback, AI chatbots help you deliver exceptional customer experiences while driving higher conversion rates and reducing costs. Their ability to provide 24/7 support and personalized recommendations can significantly boost your sales and customer satisfaction.
When paired with Sparq’s smart product search and filters, you can provide a more personalized experience to customers and boost conversions. You can help customers find exactly what they are looking for faster. Integrating both these tools will help you streamline operations and improve conversion rates, ultimately driving growth and success.
Schedule a demo to learn how Sparq's smart product search and filters can enhance your customer experience.
FAQs
What is an AI chatbot?
An AI chatbot is an AI-powered virtual assistant that is designed to interact with your customers in real-time. It simulates human-like conversations to answer their queries and assist them with personalized shopping.
What is the difference between traditional chatbot and AI chatbot?
Traditional chatbots are generally rule-based i.e. they follow predefined scripts to provide answers to customers. On the other hand, AI chatbots leverage natural language processing and machine learning to understand customer intent to make conversations more smarter and personalized.
How do AI chatbots handle customer inquiries that require human intervention?
AI chatbots can identify complex issues and automatically escalate such queries to human customer support agents for smoother resolution. These chatbots provide some detailed context from the chat to human agents, ensuring there is no disruption in customer support.
